Meconopsis dhwojii

[Lars S]

I got seeds of Meconopsis dhwojii from the seed exchange today and I wonder if anyone has any information about germinating and growing this species ?
At least here in Sweden I think itīs very rare in cultivation (at least as far as I know)

Thanks !


Lars Stark

Stockholm/Sweden

[Susan Band]

Lars
This is a lovely mec, with dissected leaves and pale yellow flowers. It is monocarpic and about the same size as horridula, I would say treat it as horridula, if you grow them. It might be difficult to get to planting size, keep the seedlings well shaded with fleece and don't let them get too hot, then plant out in a cool position in the garden. If you sow them now they should germinate within about 4 weeks, once they are starting to germinate keep them frost free. Good luck with them.

[Lars S]

Hi Susan,

Thanks a lot for the information. Actually I havenīt tried M horridula yet. If I remember correctly there are two different types of M horridula, and the high altitude form is trickier than the low altitude form (there was an article by James Cobb in the latest number of "The Rock Garden").


Lars

[Paul E.]

I got seeds of Meconopsis dhwojii from the seed exchange today

Lars, I wonder if you got round to germinating and growing Meconopsis dhwojii in the end? Perhaps a picture or two if so, to give the happy ending to the story!

Over the summer I've been studying M. dhwojii in central Nepal, so am also curious to see what's being grown under the name, and how it resembles the species of the wild.

[Lars S]

Hi Paul,

the seeds germinated well and I have planted them out in my peat garden. At the moment the plants are covered by snow but if they survive the winter I will try to post pictures in spring.

Lars

[Paul E.]

That's great to hear Lars.. I just about have the patients to wait and see what you might picture emerging from under the snows

I wonder with other folks out there if their M. dhwojii reveals dark spots under the bristle of the leaves? If not, it's likely to be either M. gracilipes or M. robusta, which have fleetingly appeared in cultivation over the years and probably hybridised or faded away.

The Meconopsis Group, amongst others, have been great on sorting out the confusion about what is cultivated under the name 'Meconopsis', although mostly concerning the large blue poppies.